The Spinelli Group, the network of European Parliamentarians which takes its name from Altiero Spinelli, founding father of European integration and composed of MEPs belonging to different political families who pursue the objective of the federal reform of the European Union, kicks off its activities today with a new reorganization and by relaunching its objectives for the current parliamentary mandate, especially in view of the Conference on the Future of Europe.

Brando Benifei, Head of the Italian Delegation of the S&D Group in the European Parliament, has been appointed President of the Spinelli Group, a role that was previously held by personalities such as Guy Verhofstadt, Daniel Cohn-Bendit and Andrew Duff. Benifei is a member of the Constitutional Affairs Committee (AFCO) in the EP and has long-lasting commitment within pro-European and federalist civil society organisations, such as Union of the European Federalists (UEF, MFE) and the European Movement International (EMI), of which he is currently Vice-President.

"The Spinelli Group wants to play a central role in this delicate institutional phase, on the eve of the launch of the Conference on the Future of Europe and in view of negotiations of crucial importance, such as those on the multi-annual budget, the rule of law, the own resources of the Recovery Plan. The pandemic has increasingly shown that the Union is not yet equipped with adequate tools to tackle a challenge of this magnitude. We have begun to build them up, but we can no longer wait for new dramatic emergencies to start questioning ourselves on the much needed reforms" declares the new Spinelli Group President, Brando Benifei.

''Today more than ever we have the duty to make courageous choices: the push for a profound reform of the Union must start from the European Parliament. We must enable the EU to govern today’s challenges and to be competitive on a global scale, while preserving and relaunching its unique social model, overcoming veto powers and remaining open to the world. In the upcoming weeks we are organising meetings with national Parliamentarians and with the civil society: we are committed to a free and united Europe, as stated in the title of the Ventotene Manifesto.”